The space rocket is one of the most impressive inventions of all time. The rocket has been in the process of development for almost 2,000 years, and rockets have been prevalent in the field of war for many years, and may soon be prevalent in travel and commerce too.

Rockets in War

It may be sad to say, but the existence of war has motivated considerable developments in rocketry. In World War 2, rockets were responsible for much of the destruction; the Germans and the Japanese used them to propel their fighter planes to ships and blow them up with bombs. In the late 1930s, the German V2 rocket was built; a rocket powered by alcohol and liquid oxygen. Were the rockets to have been used from the start of the war, they may have had a crucial part to play in the outcome, but they were eventually brought into play too late to do so. After the war, the V2 would serve as the basis of the international ballistic missile program, which would then develop into the manned spaceflight program.

Space Race

Towards the end of the Second World War, the United States of America and the Soviet Union entered into an aeronautical rivalry that would come to be known as the ‘Space Race’. Although the United States was the first to send a man to the moon, the Soviets beat them to a number of ‘first time’ accomplishments. This rivalry is said to have come to an end now, and both nations are working not only together, but with other international space agencies on the future of rocketry and space exploration with a civilian perspective and focus, as opposed to a military one. Without the war, the developments that have brought us to this point in rocket-based research might not have been possible, but the future of aeronautic research need not rely on the same sources of inspiration.